Straight Shooting - Issue #73
The PTC and what we need to be effective against them
by Fritz Capp
July 10, 2000
Pro wrestling has become one of the hottest commodities in the world in the past two years. It is also one of the most scrutinized forms of entertainment ever.
While it is true that pro wrestling should never be considered more than what it is, a lot of today's people are finding ways to chastise it for it's product and how it relates to mainstream life. These are the rambling's of people who have nothing better to do with their lives than look for scapegoats to shield them from the realization of their own inadequacies.
Professional wrestling does not, and let me say that again, does not influence the way people think or react to a given situation. As a pro wrestling fan since 1964 I do not get the urge when confronted with a situation to just grab a steel chair and smash it over someone's head, even when I feel in retrospect that they deserved it.
Far too many people are looking to make pro wrestling the scapegoat to the worlds ills. Let's forget the fact that mankind in general has continually wrestled (no pun intended) with their on frailties and weaknesses since the dawn of time.
What does all this clamoring really say about the people making all the noise? It says volumes. Instead of actually taking on a cause that would help they choose to hide behind a facade of morality while not really getting their hands into a place where they can get dirty.
Let's look at the PTC. Here is a council that is our self proclaimed guide to what we should be viewing on television. This company is funded by a 400,000 membership and corporate sponsorship. The upper management team headed by L.Brent Bozell have lavish offices, live in fine houses, drive the finest cars, stay in the finest hotels and eat in the finest restaurants all off of their "non-profit" organization. These people spend thousands of hours making phone calls, writing letters and organizing campaigns all under the guise of "saving us from ourselves". Wouldn't this money, time and effort be better spent educating and helping the poor and less fortunate members of our society? Wouldn't it be true that if they spent 1/5 of the time that they do worrying about what we choose to watch on television on something that actually would benefit mankind that they could really make a difference?
Instead they carve a nitch for themselves by attacking the World Wrestling Federation and it's programming. This benefits mankind how? Exactly what does this do for the war torn countries and people that was once the Soviet Union? How does this help the millions of dying AIDS patients in the world today? Is this going to help speed the cure for cancer? Will these efforts of the PTC feed one hungry child? Hardly.
The PTC, Media Research and people like them are only looking for a free ride in today's society. While I am sure that there are a few misguided people at this organization who actually feel that they are a necessary part of today's society, for the most part this and organizations like them are nothing more than a blight on our society and can be used to show just how far backwards our society is really becoming.
In today's world there is no need to "find a nitch" when it comes to helping out society or it's ills. Far too many problems are shown to us each day within all the mediums of media to have to have to "look" for something to cry about so as to make a name for yourself.
And that is exactly what this is really all about. The PTC and it's parent company, Media Research is looking for press. They do not care what kind as long as they receive it. This non-profit organization is nothing more than a political organization, playing on peoples insecurities to make a mark on society and it's people. Do you really think that L.Brent Bozell really cares what kind of programming is on television? I highly doubt it. He is too busy setting up schedules and positioning himself and his company into prominence. The television angle is the way to achieve status and recognition. Sad as it is to say, we have given freely into their quest for recognition with our continued fight against this organization. We have done exactly what they wanted us to do. In effect we have helped them gain the notoriety they have achieved this past year.
We did this by rallying the troops together and starting all of our Internet wars with the PTC. I am as much to blame as everyone else since I started the WFAC (Wrestling Fans Against Censorship) last year. The WFAC and other organizations that we have formed since have only fueled the fire of the PTC so to speak.
When you write the PTC what kind of response do you get? Is it pleasant? No, its not is it. For the most part they are arrogant, rude and impolite. Does this sound like someone who we have on the ropes from all of our efforts? Not at all. In fact I would like to bring something to light:
It is a fact that we have had people drop the sponsorship of the PTC through their online affiliate program. But what kind of monetary effect has this had on them? None what-so-ever. We are talking dollars and cents here. The PTC on the other hand has had millions and millions of dollars removed from WWF broadcasting. Who is the real winner here? Just how effective is our strategy if all we gain is a few moral victories against a political machine that is costing millions of dollars to the people that we are fighting for?
Moral victories help continue the effort but there has to come a time when we as a whole have to decide whether or not we are as effective as we believe ourselves to be. If we think we are being effective we are only fooling ourselves because we have not stopped or hurt the PTC one bit save their ego for the affiliates that dropped them.
It is time that we come together under one flag, one organization to combat what we feel is a direct assault on our personal freedoms. Unless we do this, with a board of directors and people dedicated to this cause we will continue to only have just a few moral victories here and there while the political machine known as Media Research and the PTC will continue to chip away at our personal freedoms and eventually start to be able to dictate to us, the people, what we can watch, read, say and do. If you think that it will stop at pro wrestling, my friends you are sadly mistaken.
This is not a small undertaking. What it would take to combat Media Research and organizations like them is many people with the same commitment and dedication to the cause. This is not a "whenever I feel like it" endeavor. This is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week undertaking of immense proportions. This has to be viewed as not just a fight to save Smackdown or any other wrestling program, this must be viewed as a fight for our continued freedom of choice, which is guaranteed by our constitution. Even when you come into the realm of religion, God gave us the freedom to "choose" what we want to do with our lives. He did not force "servitude" unto him and him alone, he gave us the freedom to choose our own paths. If our countries forefathers and God himself gave us the freedom to choose, who are Media Research, the PTC and other organizations like them to decide it is up to them to make those decisions for us?
It is time to either make a real stand on this issue or just let it go as it may and not give the PTC any press what-so-ever. We have come to the precipice of choosing between whether to continue this fight and do it properly giving us the best chance of success or just wasting our time, massaging our ego's along the way pretending to be doing something important when in actuality we are not making one bit of difference to the final outcome.
As always, that choice is yours!
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